Chittagong

Chittagong is a historical Indian war film which brings into focus the incidents that took place during the Indian fight for independence. While watching the film, there was tension mounting up in me. The suspense of the darkness about what will happen next to the teenagers involved into the war against the powerful Britons. It was easy to understand the film and its themes due to its style of communication. The actions and reactions of the teenagers were straight forward, and the motive and driving force behind their actions were simple to understand. My overall reaction to the film was sympathizing with the fights and sharing the heroes’ pain with them. To see the whites massacring the young boys for no apparent reason was disheartening. I admired the hearts of the teenagers, who fought relentlessly for their country’s sovereignty. I felt pity at the fact that the young Indian fighters were with no weapons to fight with the armed Britons. All the same time, their determination has to be reckoned with and admired.

Getting along with the message in the film was easy since it is a common sense to understand the pain Indians were going through at the hands of inhumane Britons. The pain of watching one’s country under siege by foreigners and the inhumane killings and humiliation of the country’s nationals is uncontrollable. With such a viewpoint, one could get the sense in the revolutionary mind of the main actor as well as his followers. The despair that came with the colonial experience led to the involvement of the young boys since there were no old people. The film presentation is quite easy; thus, it was not a problem to understand it. The setting of the movie also aided in communicating to the viewers about the time of the war and the living standards of Indians at that time.

I liked the film considerably although it made me feel uncomfortable to watch what was happening to people only for the interests of foreigners. The fact that many Indians lost their lives was very disheartening. To perceive young people as war veterans was dreadful. The most likable thing about the film is the fact that when united, the veterans were able to shake a giant. Normally, I feel uneasy about war films, and I do not like imaging people suffering in such conditions as shown in Chittagong.

Regardless of this dislike, while watching this film, there was some anxiety that led me to watch a scene after scene wanting to see what will take place next and the film will end. The the seizure of the British army’s amoury was unexpected. It did not cross the mind that such inexperienced fighters could come up with a plan that would prove to be worthwhile. The suspense that the director enacts in this incidents leads to a lot of anxiety and tension in viewers as they expect the worst to take place. It is overwhelming to see that with little knowledge but real determination and unity, the veterans were able to fight a trained British army. Viewing the incidents in the film, I could not come to terms with what the Britons were propagating upon their colonials, and I felt pain. I wondered whether there is any remedy for such inhumane acts and whether there is any way that the Britons can pay back for the damages they caused and pain experienced by colonials. I did not like the way the veterans were unearthed and tortured. I only enjoyed the scenes when the veterans defeated the Britons. Although such incidents were rare in the film, the ending where they achieved victory was very encouraging.

The film had English subtitles. There was a lot of gestures and signs used among the fighting teenagers and their masters. When taking a position for the confrontation, the warring Indians hardly used verbal language. They could signal each other and understand what that was supposed to mean. The use of sign languages and signaling aided in communicating in the film, where the viewer could fathom that they did not want to be heard in case somebody was close by or in close quarters. The use of English subtitles helped to understand where I could not hear the words clearly. Communication in the film was shown even in characters’ behavior when confronted by certain circumstances. For example, after killing Johnson and getting wounded, Pritilata commits suicide communicating that it is better to die as a patriot than face torture in the hands of the Britons. It also tells the audience that one had to live was only for his/her country to eliminate the enemy; thus, there was no loss in dying. This action of suicide shows that the fighters were not afraid to die, and they were ready to embrace it in the line of eliminating the enemies of their country. It also tells the audience that the fighters would rather die by any other means than torture by the Britons. The film also communicated through the fear and doubt portrayed by the young fighters and their yearning to go back home. It was apparent that regardless of their determination, they had little faith in themselves, and they were worried about their parents. All the same, even if they decided to return to their parents alive, they did not abandon their course of fighting for their freedom. This shows the true spirit of patriots in the fighters.